Sometimes, no matter how precisely you program your robot, you can’t account for variations in the product you are handling.
When a human does these kinds of tasks, we wiggle it about, from side to side, until it goes in. Up until now, this has been something that a robot would find extremely hard to execute.
But now you can do this with your robot too, using force torque sensing.
Find out how you can add force torque sensing to your robot here.
In this example, the robot uses vision to pick up a USB lid, but uses force torque sensing to discover which way round the cap is, then continues to fit the USB cap the correctly.
The force torque sensor can be added to most platforms, but is native to the Universal Robot. In this example you can see the Force Co-Pilot software from Robotiq.
You can use this software to make better use of the force torque sensing abilities of your Universal Robot e-Series.
For the CB series robots, the software comes with an end of arm sensor. The sensor is built to an exceptionally high standard but weighs just 300 grams.
Our verdict?
The Robotiq force torque sensing software is superb for time saving, and is a way to expand the capabilities of Universal Robots all designed to help you to start production faster. If you use your robot for a mix of applications, you should have this capability.
For other platforms, you will need the ability to use the information from the sensor in your programming, but there are few simpler or more accurate ways to tool your robot and give it a sense of touch.
Find out more here about Force Torque Sensing for your robot.
If you have a more dexterous task that you didn’t think a robot was capable of completing, then think again. Force torque sensors could be the way forward.
